Netflix and AOL subscriber bases are inverse; headed in opposite directions. But going deeper, does the inverse relationship reflect something we can learn about technological evolution?

We’ve all heard the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”, but rare is the occasion where this statement is so abundantly true it goes without saying.

The graph above is this precise instance.

It lucidly shows how over the last decade, AOL and Netflix have seen completely polar trends in subscription numbers. I saw this chart in a post on SplatF; an admirable and post-worthy tech blog in its own right, that has a gift for finding the most interesting stories in the tech sphere. Check out SplatF’s twitter (@SplatF) and that of its founder, Dan Frommer (@fromedome) and give it a read!

Well anyway, the diverging popularity of AOL and Netflix is not simply a display of the rapid birth and growth of one company contrasted with the slow demise of another. This image also exhibits the stark divide between the no longer popular Dial-Up Internet access, as opposed to the flourish of Broadband.

This depicts how, as people become increasingly reliant on the Internet for their data, the data demands are increasing, making the logical choice of Broadband over Dial-up no longer an option but a necessity.